A Future America like Today’s America?Review by Mike W.
Imagine us. We are sitting on a polluted, dying earth. In the novel On Such a Full Sea, Chang-rae Lee's first foray into the world of the dystopian novel, we find ourselves in America at an unspecified time in the future. The country has split into three distinct classes who occupy three types of areas.
The upper class, known as Charters, occupies gated cities and enjoys most of the nation's wealth, healthy food, and good medical care, as well as boasting safe streets, large homes (which vary from the nice to super nice). While they seemingly have it all, there is an element of worry and competition in this upper class, with kids being tested and ranked from the time they enter school for the best opportunities.
We are then immediately introduced to the middle class as we begin to learn the story of Fan, the novel's main character. She is a resident of B'more, the city once known as Baltimore. We learn that due to environmental disasters in China, many Chinese come to inhabit this and other old and largely abandoned industrial sections of major American cities, renovating whole sections with a communal style of family living. The middle class in B'more farms much of the fish and food for the Charter cities, and those who hold these farming related jobs are considered fortunate. These old cities are also gated and guarded, but there is nowhere near the opportunity for the acquisition of wealth available to the Charters. There is one glint of hope for upward mobility however, in that people from these settlements can test their way into Charter society by scoring in the the top two percent (including the scores of the highly educated Charter kids) on a standardized test. The rare, successful candidate is then adopted into a Charter family and never seen again by his settlement family. These rare successes are celebrated and are a lifelong source of pride in the settlement communities even though they are lost to the community forever.
The third class is made up of those who live in what are called “The Counties” where there is little to no government or law and where might largely makes right. People are bartered as cash for sex and payment in medical services, crime is prevalent, and access to food and water is limited.
The novel follows the story of Fan as she runs away from B'more in search of her boyfriend Reg who has been taken by the government without explanation. It is through her adventures, as she moves from her settlement to the counties and eventually to the Charters that we learn more fully about each of the three areas, and are confronted with many of the horrors and injustices present in each of the society’s classes. I was at times reminded of other books I had read: McCarthy's The Road and Saunders' The Semplica Girl Diaries (but without the comedy).
One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is that it is told from the WE, as if the voice of the whole B'more community is relating the tale. As a result, we don't get into Fan's head the way we would in other narrative structures. This is likely behind some of the complaints in other reviews of this novel that Fan's character is flat. I believe that this was intentional and that it wasn't intended to be a story about Fan as much as it was the story of a community who uses Fan to describe their world and society. A very interesting structure and successfully employed.
It doesn't take long to realize that the three classes aren't so terribly different from the way America functions now, and On Such a Full Sea provides the reader with ample opportunity to ponder the benefits and stresses of each. From the depression and disillusion of the counties, to the manipulated contentment of the settlements and the ethically bankrupt, frenetic and performance driven Charters we get a look at one possible direction of our current world.
I was absolutely hooked on this novel from the first chapter. From the unreliable narrator to the plucky, mystifying heroine Fan, this world had me in it's grip and didn't let go. It was surprising to me that the writing was so good. I don't often include science fiction in the same category as literary fiction. This was a fascinating blending of the two. As such, it was at times not as plot-heavy as some readers might want, but I found myself completely enthralled. The ending was heartbreaking and yet hopeful, with plenty of unanswered questions to keep readers thinking after the last page had been turned. This will definitely be on my list of favorites this year.
I listened to the book on audio in the car, and I think that really affected the experience as the narrator had a very pleasing voice. This was one of those books that I could not wait to get into the car to see what had happened to Fan. As I mentioned, I agree with some reviewers that it was sort of distracting that we never heard from her directly. Yet, I do feel that I got to know her, and her personality, and her motivations. My admiration of the novel may be affected by the fact that I really enjoy futuristic fiction, and the world that was created by the author was fascinating to me. Overall, I enjoyed this journey of Fan's, and could draw many parallels to our current society (sadly). I will likely seek out other works by this author based on my enjoyment of this book.
Imagine us. We are sitting on a polluted, dying earth. In the novel On Such a Full Sea, Chang-rae Lee's first foray into the world of the dystopian novel, we find ourselves in America at an unspecified time in the future. The country has split into three distinct classes who occupy three types of areas.
The upper class, known as Charters, occupies gated cities and enjoys most of the nation's wealth, healthy food, and good medical care, as well as boasting safe streets, large homes (which vary from the nice to super nice). While they seemingly have it all, there is an element of worry and competition in this upper class, with kids being tested and ranked from the time they enter school for the best opportunities.
We are then immediately introduced to the middle class as we begin to learn the story of Fan, the novel's main character. She is a resident of B'more, the city once known as Baltimore. We learn that due to environmental disasters in China, many Chinese come to inhabit this and other old and largely abandoned industrial sections of major American cities, renovating whole sections with a communal style of family living. The middle class in B'more farms much of the fish and food for the Charter cities, and those who hold these farming related jobs are considered fortunate. These old cities are also gated and guarded, but there is nowhere near the opportunity for the acquisition of wealth available to the Charters. There is one glint of hope for upward mobility however, in that people from these settlements can test their way into Charter society by scoring in the the top two percent (including the scores of the highly educated Charter kids) on a standardized test. The rare, successful candidate is then adopted into a Charter family and never seen again by his settlement family. These rare successes are celebrated and are a lifelong source of pride in the settlement communities even though they are lost to the community forever.
The third class is made up of those who live in what are called “The Counties” where there is little to no government or law and where might largely makes right. People are bartered as cash for sex and payment in medical services, crime is prevalent, and access to food and water is limited.
The novel follows the story of Fan as she runs away from B'more in search of her boyfriend Reg who has been taken by the government without explanation. It is through her adventures, as she moves from her settlement to the counties and eventually to the Charters that we learn more fully about each of the three areas, and are confronted with many of the horrors and injustices present in each of the society’s classes. I was at times reminded of other books I had read: McCarthy's The Road and Saunders' The Semplica Girl Diaries (but without the comedy).
One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is that it is told from the WE, as if the voice of the whole B'more community is relating the tale. As a result, we don't get into Fan's head the way we would in other narrative structures. This is likely behind some of the complaints in other reviews of this novel that Fan's character is flat. I believe that this was intentional and that it wasn't intended to be a story about Fan as much as it was the story of a community who uses Fan to describe their world and society. A very interesting structure and successfully employed.
It doesn't take long to realize that the three classes aren't so terribly different from the way America functions now, and On Such a Full Sea provides the reader with ample opportunity to ponder the benefits and stresses of each. From the depression and disillusion of the counties, to the manipulated contentment of the settlements and the ethically bankrupt, frenetic and performance driven Charters we get a look at one possible direction of our current world.
I was absolutely hooked on this novel from the first chapter. From the unreliable narrator to the plucky, mystifying heroine Fan, this world had me in it's grip and didn't let go. It was surprising to me that the writing was so good. I don't often include science fiction in the same category as literary fiction. This was a fascinating blending of the two. As such, it was at times not as plot-heavy as some readers might want, but I found myself completely enthralled. The ending was heartbreaking and yet hopeful, with plenty of unanswered questions to keep readers thinking after the last page had been turned. This will definitely be on my list of favorites this year.
I listened to the book on audio in the car, and I think that really affected the experience as the narrator had a very pleasing voice. This was one of those books that I could not wait to get into the car to see what had happened to Fan. As I mentioned, I agree with some reviewers that it was sort of distracting that we never heard from her directly. Yet, I do feel that I got to know her, and her personality, and her motivations. My admiration of the novel may be affected by the fact that I really enjoy futuristic fiction, and the world that was created by the author was fascinating to me. Overall, I enjoyed this journey of Fan's, and could draw many parallels to our current society (sadly). I will likely seek out other works by this author based on my enjoyment of this book.